The Suckage. I Has It.

So yeah. I suck at blogging lately... my sincere apologies for the lack of updates. Work has been kicking my ass, in combination with carpooling with Scott. That means I leave a little before 6 am and don't get home until 6 or 6:30 pm, leaving little time for anything else. In fact, I am at work right now (off the clock) waiting for Scott to come get me! But I thought I'd sneak in a brief update sans photos, and I promise this weekend I will post pictures.

First of all, the baby cardigan was finished less than 24 hours after that last post. The public humiliation of my failings was too much to bear, and I finally got it right. Both sleeves match each other, and it's washed and everything. It does still need a final pug-hair check, and perhaps a tumble in the drier to fluff up the cotton (it was dried flat, because I fear premature pilling), but it looks pretty good and it felt awesome to finally finish that sucker.

My lovely new socks from the Shalimar Yarn are also finished, and I lurve them. The yarn was awesome to knit with, and I'm really excited to try the other weights (once some of the stash is gone, of course). I think I'd really like to try a sweater with another stonewash colorway.

Cassidy's sweater (the light blue Classic Cotton raglan) is going surprisingly well. I'm completely winging the whole thing, and it's really quite amazing that I haven't had to rip it out even once. I'm nearly done with the first sleeve, and I'm not quite sure how long to make them, but I'm not too worried. I have lots of experience ripping out sleeves. :)

Okay I guess that's it. Now where is Scott? I need to get to knit night!

I Wish We Still Had a Fireplace

You've probably heard of the infamous Sweater Curse. Well what I have is a cursed sweater. Seriously. It's a little mint green baby sweater, and I swear it is destroying my soul. It started back during mid-2007, when my husband's coworker was going to have his second baby. I had just finished knitting the Knitting Pure and Simple Baby Cardigan, and thought it was easy enough to do once more. It went well until I took a little break with one sleeve yet to go. When I went back to do it, I used a different size needle, and somehow didn't notice until it was finished. The ends were woven in and everything, but one sleeve was pretty obviously much more tightly knit. Rather than frog the thing, I just knit a hat and booties for the recipient and moved on with life.

Fast forward to a couple weeks ago. Two of Scott's friends are having babies this year, and I instantly thought of the sweater. It only needs one sleeve done, so it should be simple, right? Wrong. I looked at the pattern, forgetting the needle size problem and saw that the sweater had been knit on #7 needles. Size 7 needles in hand, I get started. A couple inches into it, the discrepancy becomes clear. At this point I chastize myself for not being very observant, and for having a really crappy memory, and for not making notes about this sort of thing. The sleeve gets ripped, and I figure I must have accidentally used #6 needles. Again, I knit the sleeve. This time, I knit nearly to the end before I see that the sleeve STILL does not match the other, smaller, sleeve. Now I hate myself and the sweater. This stupid sleeve has been knit three times and I wish it would die in a fire.

Unfortunately, there is just something in my brain that won't let me destroy the thing no matter how mad I am at it. It's too close to being finished, and the idea of being defeated by a baby cardigan really sticks in my craw. So, it is back in the bag (with a note to use #5 needles next time), and I have until June to let the hate subside and finish it.

On a happier note, Scott's scarf is done:

And I've got the cuffs of both Shalimar socks done:
I've made lists of all my projects and goals, and so far so good. Maybe I'll make it to Sheep & Wool after all!

Resolutions. Maybe.

The socks were finished before the end of the year, as was Scott's hat:

They look good and fit, and Scott likes them. Win! Scott's scarf has been started, and is now about two feet long. Here is a picture of my Robosapien helping out about 18 inches ago:

I wish I could teach him to knit, that would rock.

The scarf has been put aside for a few days (until I forget how sucky it can be to knit six feet of the same. thing. over. and. over.) and right now I'm working on a pair of socks with Shalimar Zoe. They're just plain vanilla socks for myself. Pictures coming later, when they look more like socks.

I've been thinking a lot about making some sort of knitting resolution. My calculations tell me I have over 18 miles of yarn, not including yarn for projects already cast on. That's a lot of yarn. Especially considering I just got rid of a garbage bag full of extra/leftover skeins, remnants, and acrylic I probably wouldn't have used. It's possible that perhaps I should use some of it. Also, perhaps I should also finish some of the unfinished projects I have laying around.

So here's my plan: I am going to buy yarn for one more project (two friends are having kids, I only have yarn for one baby project). After that, no more yarn until I work through 5 miles of yarn. That's 8800 yards, and like I said- it doesn't include WIPs. Which brings me to the second part of my resolution...

I am going to finish the following WIPs this year: the baby sweater missing one sleeve, Cass's top, Scott's scarf, the Shalimar Zoe socks, the Clapotis, and my Boyfriend Sweater. I think that's reasonable, and will make a lot of room in my yarn cabinet.

The only part the sucks is that if I don't polish off five miles by May, I don't get to go to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. For now, I'm considering that to be a motivator, and maybe if I work through at least half, I'll let myself go and get just a small amount (but way less than the 4400 yards I have to get through).

I'm off to get started- and I won't hold it against you if you fell off your chair laughing at the idea of me not buying yarn for at least 5 months.

Quicky

I still have not finished the second hat for Scott, nor have I finished his socks. Then today, I thought it would be fun to try rollerskating, and promptly fell on my ass (twice) messing up my left elbow something fierce. I haven't actually tried knitting yet, but I think I will be able to only in short bursts. Also, the yarn for Scott's scarf has been chosen- Ella Rae Classic, in Chocolate Heather (#111). Photos soon, once I've got a few inches done. I asked Scott to pick from a few stitch patterns, and he liked Mistake Rib the best. That's it for now. More later this week!

I Need a Nap!

It turns out that I was so over-confident in my ability to churn out a pair of men's socks in a short period of time, that I thought I'd have time to make a couple of hats as well. Yeah. That didn't quite work out, as Scott's socks are still not done. But he does have a hat that he loves:

And the mail lady got this hat:

Sorry that's such a crappy picture. It's ribbed with cables, in Patons Shetland Chunky. It came out okay for a last minute hat, but I wish I had done the decreases differently- they look a little too obvious in a couple places.

The biggest problem with the socks was that I ran out of yarn. I had two 50g balls of Patons Kroy Sock yarn, and the first sock still has about two inches (including the toe) to go. Of course, this all came to light yesterday afternoon- while Scott had our only car and wasn't due to be home until exactly when the stores closed. So I can't get another ball until tomorrow, but in the meantime I can knit the other sock (which is just past the gusset) until that one runs out. The socks are no longer a surprise, so I can knit them in his presence, and have him try them on to check for length.

If you're planning on knitting men's socks on size 1 needles (I cast on 72 st.) with the Kroy sock, be aware that you may need a third ball!

Now I am also working on a second tam for Scott. The first one (above) was knit up with Patons Classic Wool for the winter, and the next will be cotton for warmer weather. He also requested a scarf, and hopefully I can get the yarn for that this weekend.

Yeesh. I have been knitting nonstop since Friday night. I was so desperate to finish the socks that I pulled all-nighters Sunday and Tuesday. Yesterday I had ice packs and warm packs laying about, and my stomach lining was not thrilled with my diet of coffee and painkillers. Hopefully a few days of extreme knitting won't cause any irreparable damage. I did take a few breaks and stretched often, so I think my hands will be fine after some rest!

There Are Two Sides to Everything

Tonight was knit night, and I grabbed the opportunity to get some work done on Scott's socks. I had to start them over, because the original version was much too big. I did manage to cast one back on and knit a row, but that's as far as I got (due to a combination of working overtime and major slacking). So I showed up at knit night at about 6:30 with one row of one sock. By the time I left at 9:30, I had 2.5 inches of ribbed cuff done on BOTH socks. That's right. Five freaking inches of sock, total, in three hours. That's over 1.5 inches per hour. That means I can be done with the leg in about another 3 hours, which is encouraging. But I think I've also underestimated the amount of time it takes to knit a pair (I had guessed about 15 earlier this evening).

This also means that I am a total slacker every time I knit anywhere other than knit night. Why can't I be that focused at home? Maybe it has something to do with coffee? Or maybe I'm just too easily distracted at home. Oh, who knows. It could be anyth

My New Friend

Yesterday I had to venture out to the mall to get an outfit to wear to the office Christmas party. I had all but given up and was on my way back to the car when I saw a store with a bunch of balloons and signs all over the place. It was a B. Moss, which I had never heard of. Apparently the company is going out of business, so everything was 50% off. I went in, and found they have oodles of stuff that would be perfect for the occasion. I picked out plaid pants and a matching green sweater, and was still poking around a bit when I realized that one of the signs on an empty fixture was for the fixture itself. Looking around, they also had shelves, wooden boxes, small chalkboards, and this:



She was for sale for $20. How perfect would she be for my knitting room? I was stoked and dragged her over to the counter. Now she is mine. The store employees called her "Mossy" so that will be her name. It turns out that her measurements are remarkably similar to mine: her bust is actually a smidge bigger, waist is the exact same, and her hips are a smidge smaller. It also turns out that discovering your measurements are similar to a store mannequin does a lot for your self esteem. So does switching from junior's sizes to women's (the number drops by like 3 or 4). I try not to get hung up on stuff like that, but I'm only human and bombarded with the same advertising as everyone else.

I had loads of fun dressing her up in my clothes. Here she is with my shawl:

I absolutely love her, and hope she will come in handy, but even if she just sits there and adds to the ambiance it will be worth the $20.

I'm putting Cass's sweater on hold and decided it will likely be a birthday gift instead. With all the overtime I've been putting in I don't think I'd have time to finish a sweater in just a couple weeks. But I might be able to handle a pair of socks for Scott, so that's what I'm planning. I picked up some "Scott colored" Paton's Kroy Sock by accident when I went to Joann's for cookie tins. I think I can get a fair amount done (hopefully both cuffs) by the 24th. I have that day off, Scott does not. So my plan is to get up as soon as he leaves and finish them in one day. I'll have nearly 12 hours, unless they let him leave early (a very real, and frightening possibility). I think I can do it as long as they are plain, basic socks.

I started a pair of socks for myself with the Zoe sock yarn. I like it bunches, and wish I had more time to dedicate to another project. This whole "work" thing is putting a serious crimp in my knitting.

And if you're curious, I've swatched for the Bohus but that's it. It's just going to have to wait until I have some real time to work on it. Plus (and I swear this isn't just me procrastinating) I really want to finish up some of my WIPs before I start new things. Specifically, Cass's sweater, the Zoe socks, and that cotton Clapotis from way back. I've also got a sweater that only needs arms, and my peach sweater. Hopefully I can power through some of those during my time off over Christmas. Which is also probably going to be the next time I have a chance to update this blog! Until then...